It is memorable that the first blood shed in this contest has been by those men whose ancestors were first fired upon in the Revolution, and that the victims have been citizens of a State more devoted than any other in the
South to the American Union.
When the sons of
Massachusetts were assailed by
England, the
South rushed to their rescue, and when they had exhausted their arms and means in her defence, she refused to send a single soldier for the relief of the
South.
The wonder is, that after this exhibition of
New England patriotism, the
South ever consented to a union with such a people.
The Baltimore
Sun gives another specimen of their conduct in the late war. In 1812, in reply to the requisition of the
President for forces to repel foreign invasion,
Gov. Strong, of
Massachusetts, flatly refused.
It "was not (continues the
Sun) until Sept, 7th, 1814, that his
Excellency Caleb Strong was pleased to write to the
Secretary of War that, 'as the troops of the
United States, which, at different periods, were stationed on the sea coast of this State, had been afterwards ordered to join the army on the
Western frontiers, so that very few remained in the
State, ' he found it necessary '
to call out small bodies of the militia, as guards to the towns most exposed.' With provident spirit, however, after doing this, he desires the
Secretary of War '
to consult with the President and inform me whether the expenses incurred for our protection will be ultimately reimbursed to the State by the General Government.'"
These are the men who have shed the first blood upon Southern soil!
And that the soil of heroic
Maryland, and in the streets of
Baltimore, which has exhibited a degree of forbearance, even to Black Republicans in her borders, that thirty years ago would not have been extended to them in New York!
This is the
State which is sending troops to invade
Virginia, whose
Washington saved her infant colony from the engulfing waters of British power!